After the cardiac bypass operation, you will spend 5 - 7 days in the hospital. You will spend the first 2 hours in an intensive-care unit (ICU). In the ICU, heart function is monitored continuously.

You may need the temporary assistance of a breathing tube for a few hours after surgery. Two to three tubes in the chest drain fluid from around the heart and are usually removed 1 - 3 days after surgery.

A urinary catheter in the bladder drains urine until you are able to void on your own. Intravenous lines (IV) provide fluids and medications. Nurses watch the monitors and check vital signs (pulse, temperature, breathing) constantly.

When constant monitoring is no longer needed, usually within 12 - 24 hours, you will be moved to a regular or a transitional care unit. You can gradually resume activity. You may begin a cardiac rehabilitation program within a few days. The incision in the chest does not bother most people after the first 48 - 72 hours.

After surgery, it takes 4 - 6 weeks to start feeling better. It is normal during recovery to:

Have a poor appetite -- it will take several weeks for it to return.

Have swelling in the leg if the graft was taken from the leg. Raising the leg and wearing elastic TED hose for several weeks helps reduce swelling.

Have difficulty sleeping at night -- this will improve.

Have constipation.

Have mood swings and feel depressed -- this will get better.

Have difficulty with short-term memory or feel confused -- this also improves.

Post-operative care guidelines following a CABG procedure

Your doctor will help you determine the schedule for resuming normal activities but general post-operative care routine guidelines include:

You may be given a tight elastic support stocking to wear around your calf to help reduce swelling.

Discomfort around the wound site is normal when sneezing and coughing.

Watch for symptoms of infection at the wound site such as redness, drainage of pus, heat, or increasing pain.

If you develop problems such as difficulty breathing, or a swollen and tender calf muscle, contact your surgeon or doctor immediately.

Strictly avoid lifting, pulling or pushing heavy objects for at least six to eight weeks following your surgery.

Eat a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, wholegrain cereals and cold-water fish (such as salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel, swordfish and sea mullet) while avoid consuming saturated fats such as those found in animal products and dairy foods.

All activities that do not cause fatigue are permitted. You must follow your surgeon`s advise on exercise and physical fitness.

Healthbase, an award-winning* medical tourism facilitator in USA, is the trusted source for global medical and dental choices, connecting patients to leading healthcare facilities worldwide. We arrange a variety of medical tourism services from basic consultations to full service treatment abroad. We help you to take care of all your medical tourism details from arranging the surgery and financing options to visas, travel, lodging and tourism.

Healthbase caters to the needs of individual consumers, self-funded businesses, insurance carriers, benefit consultants, insurance agents, and third party administrators seeking affordable medical travel and dental travel options. Our state-of-the-art, easy to use, information rich web-based system makes it easy to coordinate international medical care including necessary travel and accommodation for patients and their companions, all at one place.

The cost of surgical care at our ever growing network of affiliated institutions is typically a fraction of the cost of care in the U.S. with equal or superior outcomes. Healthbase arranges first class services for patients at major internationally accredited hospitals in Thailand, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Turkey, Belgium, Hungary, Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil, Mexico, USA and is expanding to Canada, UK, Jordan,Taiwan, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Medical Tourism, also termed as Medical Travel, Health Travel, Health Tourism, Global Healthcare, Medical Vacation, Medical Value Travel, Medical Treatment Abroad, International Medical, Surgical Tourism, Surgery Abroad, Surgical Trip, Healthcare Abroad, Medical Outsourcing, offshore Medical and Overseas Medical, is the act of traveling abroad to receive medical, dental and cosmetic care. Significantly lower cost for best practice care is usually the primary motivation behind medical tourism although some medical tourists go abroad for immediate availability of procedures and to seek treatments that are not available in their home country. Patients frequently also take advantage of the opportunity to vacation and tour inexpensively in the foreign country while they are visiting for health care. Signup to know more about medical or dental tourism.

* - Awarded the "Best Website for Accessing International Medical Information for Patients/Consumers" by Consumer Health World 2007.